PittChronicleNewspaper of the University of Pit tsburgh Volume XI • Number 5 • Februar y 8 , 2010

I N S I D ETuskegee Airman RoscoeC. Brown to speak............. 2 Black History Month profile: Renã Robinson... 3

Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg has announced the winners of the 2010 Chan-cellor’s Distinguished Teaching and Distin-guished Public Service Awards.

The Chancellor’s Distinguished Teach-ing Award will be given to the following five Pitt faculty members:

Carl Bodenschatz, a senior lecturer in the School of Arts and Sciences’ Depart-ment of Statistics and director of Pitt’s Undergraduate Statistics Program;

Robert J. Gilbert, a professor of business administration in the Joseph M. Katz Gradu-ate School of Business and College of Business Administration;

Anthony C. Infanti, a professor in the School of Law;

Shalini Puri, direc-tor of the English Lit-erature Program and a professor in the School of Arts and Sciences’ Department of English; and

Bill J. Yates, a pro-fessor of otolaryngology and neuroscience in the School of Medicine.

The 2010 Chan-cellor’s Distinguished Public Service Awards, which honor faculty for outstanding contribu-tions to the community, will be presented to the following two Pitt faculty members:

Linda R. Frank, a professor in the Graduate School of Public Health’s Depart-ment of Infectious Diseases and Microbiol-ogy and director of the Master of Public Health Program, Community and Behav-ioral Interventions for Infectious Diseases; and

Lawrence A. Frolik, a professor in the School of Law.

Each awardee will receive a $2,000 cash prize and a $3,000 grant for the sup-port of his or her teaching or public service activities. The awardees will be recognized during Pitt’s 34th annual Honors Convoca-tion on Friday, Feb. 26. Their names also will be inscribed on plaques in the William Pitt Union.

Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Awards

Bodenschatz was honored for his abilities to teach and lead, both inside and outside of the classroom. He has taught statistics at Pitt for almost 10 years, and prior to joining the University, he taught in the Department of Mathematical Sciences in the U.S. Air Force Academy.

Nordenberg, in his letter inform-ing Bodenschatz of his Distinguished Teaching Award, commended him for engaging students by posing “real-world” statistical problems. The chancellor also praised him for taking time to mentor students, advising them on issues rang-ing from professionalism and service to dedication and personal responsibility. “The impact of your efforts is reflected in the sentiments of the 3,562 students whom

you have taught during your teaching career, many of whom con-sider you to be the best instructor they have had,” wrote Norden-berg.

The chancellor also noted in his letter that the number of statistics undergraduate majors has tripled since Boden-schatz became director of the Undergraduate Statistics Program.

Gilbert was rec-ognized for his passion for teaching and his innovative approach in the classroom.

Nordenberg praised Gilbert for his course development innova-tions, which, the chan-cellor said, have drawn national attention to Pitt’s undergraduate

business program. “Your Projects in Marketing class has afforded students the opportunity to develop a marketing cam-paign for world-class firms such as Honda, Nissan, Recording Industry Association of America, and Goal Financial,” wrote Nordenberg.

Gilbert has consistently received high ratings on student evaluations in teaching questionnaires. In addition, he has been recognized by his peers as the College of Business Administration Teacher of the Year for four out of the past six years. “Your outstanding record of teaching accomplish-ment adds to the distinction of the Univer-sity of Pittsburgh,” Nordenberg said.

Infanti joined Pitt’s faculty in 2000 after leaving his private legal practice in New York City. His primary area of expertise is taxation, and the majority of his courses at Pitt have focused on the tax arena, including federal income tax, as well as corporate, international, and estate and gift taxes.

Nordenberg, in his letter notifying Infanti about the award, said Infanti’s selection recognized his “exceptional com-mitment” to preparing his students for the practice of law.

“Your dedication is also evident in the

work that you do beyond the formal cur-riculum, including coaching student teams in tax moot court competitions and serving as chief faculty editor of the student-run journal, the Pittsburgh Tax Review,” the chancellor wrote.

Puri joined Pitt’s faculty in 1994 and was given the responsibility of globalizing the University’s curricular offerings in English. She was eventually named director of the English Literature Program, which has allowed her to continue to help shape the department’s teaching agenda. Puri has taught across Pitt’s English Studies curriculum for both undergraduate and graduate students.

In his letter notifying Puri of her Distin-guished Teaching Award, Nordenberg wrote that the honor “recognizes your impact on the teaching mission of the Department of English in expanding the horizons of your students through novel interdisciplinary and cross-programmatic methods.”

“Your expertise has been used to educate docents at the Carnegie and your classroom teaching has been inspiring, challenging, and continuously successful, as evidenced by the high marks on stu-dent evaluation of teaching that you have received,” the chancellor added.

In his letter notifying Yates of his award, Nordenberg wrote, “this honor rec-ognizes your dedication to undergraduate research, your sustained commitment as a mentor to your students, and your progres-sive teaching style.”

Nordenberg noted that Yates, as a faculty member in the School of Medicine whose primary responsibility is running a successful laboratory, is not required to teach. However, Yates chose to do so by seeking a secondary appointment in the School of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Neuroscience.

Yates works with an average of seven undergraduate students a term in his lab; he has coauthored journal articles with 34 undergraduate students and awarded one of his students the privilege and responsibil-ity of lead authorship. “The University is proud to reward your many contributions to excellence in teaching with this award,” Nordenberg wrote.

Chancellor’s Distinguished Public Service Awards

In a letter congratulating Frank for her award, Nordenberg wrote that “the selec-tion committee was particularly impressed by your many public service contributions that have increased general knowledge and awareness of HIV/AIDS, diminished the stigma associated with the disease, and reduced disparities with regard to patient access among minorities and other under-

Nordenberg Announces 2010 Distinguished Teaching and Public Service Awards

Carl Bodenschatz Robert J. Gilbert Anthony C. Infanti Shalini Puri Bill J. Yates Linda R. Frank Lawrence A. Frolik

Each awardee will receive a $2,000 cash prize and a $3,000 grant for the support of his or her teaching or public service activities. The awardees will be recognized during Pitt’s 34th annual Honors Convocation on Friday, Feb. 26. Their names also will be inscribed on plaques in the William Pitt Union.

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By Sharon S. Blake

The University of Pittsburgh’s School of Social Work and the Center on Race and Social Problems will host “Race in America”—designed to be the most solution-focused conference on race ever held—on the University’s Pittsburgh campus June 3-6.

Seven key areas will be explored during “Race in America”: economics, education, criminal justice, race relations, health, mental health, and families, youth, and the elderly. There will be two keynote speeches and a panel discussion, all open to the public, as well as 20 sessions for con-ference participants. Forty of the nation’s most prominent experts on race will give presentations in the conference sessions.

Conference participants—a multira-cial group of researchers, policy makers, students, and community leaders—will be asked to identify the most pervasive instances of racial inequities, explore the factors that contribute to them, and work on actionable steps that can be taken at the federal, state, and local levels to help build greater equity in our society.

In addition to experts from Pitt, confer-ence presenters are from Boston College; Brandeis University; Carnegie Mellon University; Georgetown University; Harvard University; Indiana University; the NAACP; New York University; Ohio State University; Texas A&M University; the University of Alabama-Birmingham; the University of California, Berkeley; the University of California, Los Angeles; the University of Michigan; the University of Minnesota; the University of North Caro-lina, Chapel Hill; the University of Texas; the University of Washington; the U.S. Census Bureau; and Washington University in St. Louis, among others.

Guest speakers will include:Julian Bond, longtime civil rights

activist and former NAACP board chair, who will give a free public address titled

Pitt to Host “Race in America” June 3-6

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2 • Pitt Chronicle • February 8, 2010

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BrieflyNoted

Newspaper of the University of Pittsburgh

PUBLISHER Robert HillASSOCIATE PUBLISHER John HarvithEXECUTIVE EDITOR Linda K. SchmitmeyerEDITOR Jane-Ellen RobinetART DIRECTOR Gary CravenerSTAFF WRITERS Sharon S. Blake John Fedele Morgan Kelly Amanda Leff Anthony M. Moore Patricia Lomando WhiteCONTRIBUTING WRITERS Kristen Beaver Marc Lukasiak Anita Srikameswaran HAPPENINGS EDITOR Baindu Saidu

The Pitt Chronicle is published throughout the year by University News and Magazines, University of Pittsburgh, 400 Craig Hall, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, Phone: 412-624-1033, Fax: 412-624-4895, E-mail: chron@pitt.edu Web: www.chronicle.pitt.edu

The University of Pittsburgh is an affirmative action, equal opportunity institution that does not discriminate upon any basis prohibited by law.

PittChronicle

Pitt to Hold Spring 2010 Career Fair for Students

The University of Pittsburgh Office of Student Employment and Placement Assistance (SEPA) will host a Spring 2010 Career Fair from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 10 and 11 in the William Pitt Union. More than 150 employers are expected during the two-day period.

“The employers attending the fair are offering excellent positions for our students,” said Cheryl S. Finlay, SEPA director. “This is an excellent opportunity for our students to network with potential employers.”

The first day of the fair will be for technical majors, which include students majoring in engineering and computer and informa-tion sciences. The second day is for nontechnical majors, which include students majoring in busi-ness, the arts, health, and sciences.

For more information, call 412-383-4473.—Patricia Lomando White

Birkerts, Newton to Discuss Technology’s Impact On Publishing Industry

The impact of future technologies on the publishing industry will be the focus of a discussion with essayist Sven Birkerts and blogger Maud Newton.

Titled “The Future of the Book,” the event will be held at 8:30 p.m. Feb. 11 in the Frick Fine Arts Auditorium. It is part of the Pittsburgh Contemporary Writers Series 2009-10 season.

The event will be moderated by Pitt creative writing professor Cathy Day, author of the short-

story collection The Circus In Winter (Harcourt, 2004) and the memoir Comeback Season: How I Learned to Play the Game of Love (Free Press, 2008).

The discussion between Birkerts and Newton will be partially based on Birkerts’

critically acclaimed book The Gutenberg Elegies: The Fate

of Reading in an Electronic Age (Faber and Faber, 1994).

Birkerts is the Contemporary Writers Series 2009-10 William Block Sr. Writer; past honorees include Paul Muldoon, Philip Goure-vitch, and Richard Ford. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Birkerts has amassed numerous honors, including the Spielvogel-Diamonstein Award from PEN for the 1990 Best Book of Essays,

and the 1985 Citation for Excel-lence in Reviewing from the National

Book Critics Circle. Newton, who began blogging in 2002,

focuses her writing on books, culture, and politics. She has been featured on NPR and in The New York Times and Boston Globe, among other publications. Her essays and works of fiction have appeared in such

literary magazines as Granta, Swink, and Pindeldyboz.

The 2009-10 Pittsburgh Contemporary Writers Series season is sponsored by Pitt’s Writing Program, Book Center, University Library System, and University of Pittsburgh Press.

All events in the Writers Series are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Jeff Oaks at oaks@pitt.edu or visit www.english.pitt.edu. —Anthony M. Moore

Pitt, Global Links Collecting Crutches, Walkers, Wheelchairs for Haiti

Amputations and other devastating injuries resulting from Haiti’s Jan. 12 earthquake have created an enormous need for mobility-assist devices, and the University of Pittsburgh and Global Links are teaming up to collect crutches, canes, walkers, and wheelchairs to aid the victims.

Mobility-assist devices can be dropped off on Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 24 and 25, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. at the Fifth Avenue entrance to the Graduate School of Public Health’s (GSPH) Parran Hall.

GSPH faculty, staff, and student volunteers will aid in the collection campaign, titled “Have a Heart for Haiti: Put Your Unused Crutches, Canes, Walkers and Wheels Chairs to Work Today!” The items will be shipped to Haiti by Global Links, a Pittsburgh-based

international relief and development organization.

“This is a way that so many of us, regardless of our skills or financial resources, can relieve the suffering of those injured by the earthquake,” said Steve Zupcic, assistant director of Pitt’s Office of Community Relations.

For more information, contact Zupcic at 412-624-7709 or stz@pitt.edu.—John Fedele

By Morgan Kelly

A captain and pilot in the U.S. Army Air Forces’ Tuskegee Airmen fighter group will join the University of Pitts-burgh in honoring the educational accom-plishments and legacy of the renowned African American World War II aviators. Titled “Tuskegee Airmen: A Model for Excellence,” the Feb. 9 event begins at noon in Room 1175 Benedum Hall and is sponsored by Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering, School of Education, Office of Public Affairs, and Office of Student Affairs in recognition of Black History Month.

Guest speaker Roscoe C. Brown commanded the 100th Fighter Squadron of the all-Black 332nd Fighter Group during World War II, earning the Distin-guished Flying Cross and Air Medal with eight Oak Leaf Clusters, denoting mult iple decorat ions. Brown is credited with being the first fighter pilot of the 15th Air Force—a massive Army Air Forces combat group operating in the Mediterranean—to shoot down a German jet fighter, and he has been honored by the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum in New York City for his outstanding leadership as squadron commander.

Born in Washington, D.C., in 1922, Brown joined the Army Air Forces in 1943 after graduating from Springfield College in Massachusetts. Returning from Europe in 1946, he enrolled at New York University and earned his master’s and PhD degrees in physical education in 1949 and 1951, respectively.

Brown has focused his professional life on resolving the policy and social problems facing urban schools through better school management and parental involvement. He currently directs the City University of New York’s Center for Urban Education Policy, which studies and analyzes these issues. He previously served as director of the Institute of Afro-American Affairs at New York University. His many publications range from such education-issue guides as Education Vouchers: Can Public Education Meet the Challenge? (Urban Issues Group, 1998), to the widely read reference work The Negro Almanac, as well as more than 60 articles in such scholarly journals as the Annals of Political and Social Science, Black Issues in Higher Education, and the Journal of Negro Education.

In addition to pursuing his academic career, Brown served on the national boards of the Boys and Girls Clubs

Tuskegee Airman Roscoe C. Brown to Speak at Pitt Feb. 9

Brown has focused his professional life on resolving the policy and social problems facing urban schools through better school management and parental involvement. He currently directs the City University of New York’s Center for Urban Education Policy, which studies and analyzes these issues.

of America and the American Council on Education. He also has received numer-ous awards and honors for his work, including the NAACP Freedom Award, the Congres-sional Award for Ser-vice to the African American Commu-nity, and distinguished alumnus awards from New York University and Springfield Col-lege.

For more infor-mation, contact Terri Cook in the Swanson School’s Off ice of Diversity at 412-624-9842 or eodadmin@pitt.edu.

Roscoe C. Brown

Sven Birkerts

February 8, 2010 • University of Pittsburgh • 3

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Renã Robinson

The Mysteries of AgingRenã Robinson, Pitt assistant professor of chemistry, targets proteins in her research to determine why we age

By Morgan Kelly

Why do people age?Fittingly, Renã Robinson’s inter-

est in aging began around 12 with that simple question. Her query has since matured, looking beyond “Why?” to ask “How?” Robinson, an assistant professor in the University of Pittsburgh School of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Chemistry, investigates the mechanics of aging at the protein level, studying how the body’s most basic components influence and respond to our physical deterioration.

“As a child, I had a lot of questions about the inherent nature of aging and why it changes us,” Robinson said. “I couldn’t solve that at 12 or 13, of course, but the basic questions are still with me.”

Robinson arrived at Pitt in Fall term 2009 following a postdoctoral fellow-ship at the University of Kentucky. In 2002, while working toward her 2007 PhD degree in analytical chemistry at Indiana University, Robinson did research in the lab of chemistry profes-sor David Clemmer, who was named one of Popular Science magazine’s Brilliant 10 for his work in proteomics.

It was under Clemmer that Robin-son adopted her current focus on pro-teins and aging. She had graduated from the University of Louisville in 2001 with plans to apply her bachelor’s degree in chemistry—with a concentration in business—to designing cosmetics. Her fascination with aging had evolved from her first basic questions to helping people forestall it, at least its physical manifestations.

“When I was working on the project at Indiana, I asked more philosophi-cal questions on aging as I got more interested in the immune system,” Robinson said . “Proteins caught my attention, and I was inspired by this complex con-nection to aging and disease. Now I’m inspired by wo r k i n g o n a problem that is so critical and of such potential benefit.”

Changes in t he expression levels of proteins could be part of the answer to why humans age. Pro-teins are molecular multitaskers and can exist within various networks t ha t ca r r y ou t major functions in the body, such as enabling commu-nication between cells. But like any large system, a protein network is susceptible to a malfunction of its individual components. A sudden

change in the function or expression level of one protein can affect another protein, then another, and soon an entire system may break down, Robinson said. As people age, she continued, certain proteins tend to

behave differently, and, to date, research still cannot completely explain why.

“In my laboratory, we study aging by measuring protein levels and looking for proteins that change,” Robinson said. “A pos-sible reason that aging occurs could be due to oxidative stress caused by a buildup of free radicals in the system over time, or there could be an innate, preprogrammed signal that causes the protein to change with aging. If the protein changes, we are trying to figure out to what end.”

Specifically, Robinson studies the connection of proteins to immunosenes-cence, the immune system breakdown that is associ-ated with age-related dis-orders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, heart problems, infections, and possibly cancer. She hopes to understand how

the early onset of changes in the immune system alters molecular systems and influ-ences the development of age-related dis-

eases, as well as whether certain changes in protein function forecast these conditions.

Her work involves extracting proteins from tissue, breaking them down into smaller components called peptides, and then tracking the peptides back to the pro-tein to determine the sequence information because unlocking the sequence reveals the protein’s identification and some clues about its role in the overall system. To do this, Robinson brings an analytical technique new to Pitt known as ion mobility spectronomy (IMS) that is coupled with mass spectrom-etry (MS). Robinson and her lab team will construct a hybrid IMS-MS instrument in Eberley Hall that separates ions based on molecular shape and charge, and then sorts and detects them by mass.

Robinson’s expertise in MS and the instrument she’s constructing will enhance the department’s research capability, said chemistry professor and department chair David Waldeck.

“Renã brings expertise in mass spec-trometry research, which is a core need to developing our research profile in analytical chemistry, and her interest in the biochemis-try of aging in model systems contributes to our growing profile in biological chemistry,” Waldeck said.

“The instrument she is developing is unique on campus. Only through such technological developments will we be able to ask and answer important questions about biological systems, such as the biochemistry of aging. Most closely related to her MS instrument are the Proteomics Core Lab in the Pitt medical school run by [Professor of Chemistry] Billy Day and our department’s

MS support facility for synthetic chem-ists. Researchers on campus who work in the area of proteomics would find collaborations with Renã and her group valuable.”

Robinson’s work had already been recognized prior to her arrival at Pitt. In 2008, while in Kentucky, Robinson received a two-year, $85,000 Science Initiative Award from the United Negro College Fund and Merck to investigate oxidative stress in a mouse model of immunosenescence following antioxi-dant treatment.

And while working in Clemmer’s lab at Indiana University, Robinson had developed various proteomics methods to study aging in fruit flies, work that led to the identification of more than 1,600 proteins and revealed that meta-bolic and defense-response proteins are heavily implicated in aging, she said. Clemmer credited Robinson and his other graduate students for their role in his work.

Now, Robinson hopes her labora-tory can motivate students to refine and deeply explore their scientific interests just as she was inspired in Clemmer’s lab.

“I came to Pitt because of the chemistry department’s excellent resources and the exciting research taking place all over campus,” Rob-inson said. “I have the opportunity to mentor young scientists who want to address complex problems. I felt this is a place where my research will thrive.”

“In my laboratory, we study aging by measuring protein levels and looking for proteins that change. A possible reason that aging occurs could be due to oxidative stress caused by a buildup of free radicals in the system over time, or there could be an innate, prepro-grammed signal that causes the protein to change with aging.”—Rena Robinson

4 • Pitt Chronicle • February 8, 2010

Nordenberg Announces 2010 Distinguished Teaching, and Public Service AwardsContinued from page 1

served populations.”Frank has served on numerous commit-

tees, organizations, initiatives, and regional boards, including the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force and AIDS Action, a Washington D.C.-based advocacy group that engages legisla-tors, government officials, and others in efforts to ensure that HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment receive a high funding prior-ity. Frank has been funded at major levels by federal and state agencies to launch train-ing and technical assistance programs and demonstration projects, including multiyear federal funding to serve as the principal investigator and executive director of the Pennsylvania/Mid-Atlantic AIDS Education and Training Center, headquartered at Pitt.

Frolik is known as one of the found-ers of the field of elder law. His scholarly work in the areas of establishing trusts by parents of adult children with disabilities

and treating aspects of guardianship has resulted in several appointments, including an academic membership on the Special Needs Trust Alliance and appointment to a special committee of the Pennsylvania State Government Commission charged with considering changes to the state’s guardianship law.

“You have made a significant impact on the quality of life for older adults in our state and our nation,” Nordenberg wrote in his letter informing Frolik of his award. “As a member of the Executive Council of the Pennsylvania chapter of the American Association for the Advancement of Retired Persons, you played a pivotal role in shaping AARP’s position on various components of long-term care, provided guidance and direction on elder-abuse issues, and worked to ensure the well-being and protection of older adults,” the chancellor added.

Pitt to Host “Race in America” June 3-6“The Road to Freedom: From Alabama to Obama” at 7 p.m. June 3 at Sol-diers & Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum;

Julianne Malveaux, econo-mist and president of Bennett College for Women, who will give a free public address at 7 p.m. June 4 at The Twentieth Century Club, 4201 Bigelow Blvd., Oakland;

Alex Castellanos, partner at National Media, Inc., and a frequent guest commentator on CNN, who will moderate a free public panel discussion titled “Post-racial America—Does It and Should It Exist?” at 7 p.m. June 5 at The Twentieth Century Club; and

Benjamin Jealous, presi-dent and CEO of the NAACP, who will be one of the panelists in that discussion.

Following the conference, a report and action plan for each of the seven areas of focus will be produced.

“Times of challenge provide the opportunity to create change,” says Larry E. Davis, dean of the School of Social Work, Donald M. Henderson Professor, and director of the Center on Race and Social Problems at Pitt. “As the nation continues its efforts to recover from an economic downturn, there has never been a better time to reexamine and correct racial inequalities in American society. It is our intent to make this the best conference ever on race in America. More importantly, it is our goal to make it the most useful one.”

For regular updates on the conference or to sign up for

e-mail alerts, visit www.race.pitt.edu.In 2002, Pitt’s School of

Social Work established the Center on Race and Social Prob-lems (CRSP)—the first race-research center to be housed in a school of social work. It has six foci: economic disparities; educational disparities; inter-racial group relations; mental health; youth, families, and the elderly; and criminal justice. CRSP fosters research by orga-nizing research advisory panels, funding pilot studies, and assist-ing with funding applications. CRSP also mentors scholars through postdoctoral fellow-ships and guidance by senior faculty, and it disseminates knowledge through a lecture series, conferences, summer institutes, courses, and academic publications.

Research carried out by CRSP scholars has included Pittsburgh’s Racial Demograph-ics: Differences and Disparities, the most comprehensive study ever done on quality-of-life issues for Pittsburgh’s Black, White, Asian, and Hispanic residents; Raising the Stakes, a report that suggested Allegh-eny County’s human services network is not prepared to ade-quately respond to the social ills surrounding casino gambling; and Allegheny County Jail Col-laborative Evaluation Research, a study that revealed that pro-viding services to Allegheny County Jail inmates while they are incarcerated and after their release dramatically reduces the chance of their returning to jail.

Continued from page 1

Julian Bond

Julianne Malveaux

Alex Castellanos

Benjamin Jealous

By Kristin Beaver

Sudhakar Pesara “P.S.” Reddy, a profes-sor of medicine in the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine’s Division of Cardiology, will receive the 2010 Peter J. Safar Pulse of Pittsburgh Award from the American Heart Association, Allegheny Division. The award will be presented during the 2010 Pittsburgh Heart Ball on Satur-day, Feb. 20, at the Pittsburgh Hilton, Downtown.

“Dr. Reddy’s cont r ibut ions to the field of cardi-ology—and, more broadly, to the cause of human health—have been enor-mous,” said Uni-versity of Pittsburgh Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg. “In addition to the won-derful work he has done here in Pittsburgh, his extraordinary efforts to deliver world-class health care to rural communities in India have had an immeasurable impact on the health of children and fami-lies that previously had little or no access to modern medical services. We are extremely fortunate that Dr. Reddy has chosen to make the University of Pittsburgh his academic home for more than 40 years, and we extend to him our most hearty congratulations, as well as our deep gratitude.”

“Dr. Reddy is an exceptional clinician and humanitarian whose commitment to helping others has advanced cardiovascular care both in the U.S. and around the world,” said Barry London, director of the UPMC Cardiovascular Institute and chief of the Uni-versity of Pittsburgh School of Medicine’s Division of Cardiology.

In 1981, Reddy’s commitment to help-ing others inspired him to establish Science Health Allied Research Education (SHARE), a charitable foundation dedicated to promot-

P.S. Reddy to Receive American Heart Association’s 2010 Pulse of Pittsburgh Award

In 1988 and 1989, Reddy trav-eled to Egypt several times to share his expertise with area surgeons. He trained local cardiologists to perform mitral valvuloplasty—a minimally invasive procedure that helps to open a blocked heart valve. Since then, this procedure has benefited thousands of under-served patients in Egypt.

ing scientific exchange between the U.S. and Third World Countries – particularly India. Funding through SHARE enabled Reddy to establish MediCiti Hospitals in Hyderabad, India. The main facility pro-

vides tertiary care to residents and another subu rban fac i l i t y prov ides pr imar y and secondary care through its attached medical college, Med-iCiti Institute of Medi-cal Sciences.

In 1988 and 1989, Reddy t raveled to Egypt several times to share his expertise with area surgeons. He trained local cardiolo-gists to perform mitral v a lv u lo p l a s t y — a minimally invasive procedure that helps to open a blocked hear t valve. Since then, this procedure

has benefited thousands of underserved patients in Egypt.

Reddy earned a medical degree from Gandhi Medical Col-lege in Hyderabad, where he also completed a rotating internship at Osmania General Hospital. He moved to the United Kingdom for residencies in medicine, neurol-ogy, chest diseases, cardiology, and internal medicine. Upon earning board certifications in medicine and cardiology, Reddy moved to Pittsburgh, where he completed a medical residency and fellowship at Pitt. He joined

the Pitt faculty in 1971. Reddy also served as director of the cardiac catheterization laboratory at UPMC Presbyterian from 1972 to 1993.

The author of more than 100 journal articles and a book, Pericardial Disease (Raven Press, 1982), Reddy’s research and clinical interests are in hemodynamics, pericardial diseases, and auscultation, which is the act of listening for sounds made by internal organs, as the heart and lungs.

Sudhakar Pesara “P.S.” Reddy

Newsmakers

Pitt’s Center for Global Health convened a Feb. 2 panel discussion on the complexities involved in Haiti’s recovery from the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake. Moderating the discussion was Donald S. Burke (above), dean of Pitt’s Graduate School of Public Health, associate vice chancellor for global health, and the UPMC-Jonas Salk Chair in Global Health at Pitt. The panel was held in the University Club.

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THE FUTURE OF HAITI

February 8, 2010 • University of Pittsburgh • 5

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1. About 600 guests watched the documentary. 2. From left, Carol Mohamed, director of Pitt’s Office

of Affirmative Action, Diversity, and Inclusion; Winifred V. Torbert of the UPMC Center for Inclusion in Healthcare; Candi Castleberry-Singleton, UPMC’s chief diversity officer; Yvonne Durham of the Greater Pittsburgh YWCA; and Angela Ford, alumnus and executive director of Pitt’s Center for Minority Health.

3. Pitt alumnus David E. Epperson, dean of Pitt’s School of Social Work from 1972 to 2001, with his wife, Cecelia Trower Epperson, also a Pitt alumnus.

4. Pitt alumni Marva Harris, interim director of the August Wilson Center for African American Culture, and George E. Barbour, a Courier reporter.

5. Left, Gerald D. Holder, US Steel Dean of Engineer-ing and a professor of chemical and petroleum engineering at Pitt, and Patricia E. Beeson, Pitt vice provost for graduate and undergraduate studies.

6. Vernell Lillie, documentary narrator, founder and artistic director of Pitt’s Kuntu Reper-tory Theatre, and associate professor emeritus of Africana Studies at Pitt; and attorney Eric Springer, former Pitt faculty member and Courier columnist.

7. Newsboys (and girls) added to the evening’s ambience by delivering free Courier newspaper facsimile pro-grams. Front row, from left: Anwara Tayloradams, Lana Macklin, and Keanu Davis. Back row, from left: Naeem Davis, David Humphrey, Amani Davis, Alexis Dixon, and Daniel Humphrey.

8. Kenneth Love with his mother, Charlotte Love.

9. Robert Hill introducing the screening of the documen-tary.

10. From left, Pitt alumni Jacquelyne Huggins and Erroline and Wayne Williams.

11. Carmon Rinehart, one of the event photographers, in the guise of legendary Courier photographer Charles “Teenie” Harris (1908-1998).

Pitt Hosts World-Premiere Screening of Newspaper of Record: The Pittsburgh Courier, 1907-1965

On Feb. 1, the University of Pittsburgh celebrated the 58-year illustrious history of The Pittsburgh Courier, which became the most influential Black newspaper in the nation, with a peak circulation of 400,000. Pitt Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg and Vice Chancellor

for Public Affairs Robert Hill hosted a world-premiere screening of a new documentary, Newspaper of Record: The Pittsburgh Courier, 1907-1965, by filmmaker and Pitt alumnus Kenneth Love. The by-invitation event, held in The Twentieth Century Club, served as Pitt’s 2010 K. Leroy Irvis Black History Month Program for 2010 and was attended by about 600 Pitt faculty, staff, students, alumni, and com-munity members, including Pitt African American Alumni Council President Linda Wharton Boyd.

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Science&Technology

R. Scott Watson

Early, Promising Results of Therapy for Premature Infants Are Not Sustained, Study Finds

By Marc Lukasiak

Inhaled nitric oxide (iNO), a therapy used in the treatment of premature newborns with respiratory failure that had shown promising results in short-term studies, does not significantly improve long-term outcomes, accord-ing to a national study led by critical care researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC.

Previous studies of inhaled nitric oxide in premature babies with respi-ratory failure suggested improvements in early out-comes, but this study of nearly 800 infants found no significant improvement in survival rates at 1 year of age and no change in longer-term respiratory or neurological function.

“We were surprised by these findings, because previous studies had sug-gested short-term benefits of iNO in the treatment of respiratory failure,” said first author R. Scott Watson, an assis-tant professor of critical care medicine and pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and an intensivist in the Division of Critical Care Medicine at Children’s Hospital “Further study will determine if a different dose, longer duration of therapy, and/or use in a dif-ferent subgroup of premature babies would be effective,” he added.

Results of the study are published in the November issue of Pediatrics, the official journal of the American Acad-

emy of Pediat-rics.

Research-ers conducted long-term fol-low-up of pre-m a t u r e new-borns from 16 centers in the United States who were born at 34 weeks or earlier, weighed between 500 and 1,250 grams, and were enrolled in a study testing whet he r i NO could prevent ch ron ic lu ng disease. Babies received f ive parts per mil-lion of iNO or a placebo within the f i r s t t wo days of bi r th and continuing for 21 days (or until the patient was taken off a ventilator). Of the 590 babies with complete

survival data, 77 percent survived to 1 year of age (79 percent of those receiving iNO and 75 percent of those receiving placebo).

At 1 year of age, less than 6 percent of study participants were still receiving

supplemental oxygen, but most had con-tinued neurologic impairment. Less than 38 percent of survivors were unimpaired, and nearly 35 percent had severe neuro-logic impairment. In all, nearly 45 percent of patients from the study had died, were on oxygen, or had neurologic impairment, and there were no significant differences between those who had received iNO

and those who had received placebo.

“This was an important study, because iNO has been proven an effective therapy for the treatment of respi-ratory failure in late-term and term infants,” Watson said. “However, it may not be effective for smaller babies born at 34 weeks or younger. In addition, the discrepancy between the short-term and longer-term findings suggests that the conventional way of

studying treatment for clinically ill infants and children—by looking at outcomes that develop in the hospital—is not enough to understand whether the treatments really work. We need to routinely study longer-term outcomes that are important to how children grow and develop over time.”

Watson is also a researcher in the Clinical Research, Investigation & Sys-tems Modeling of Acute Illness Labora-tory in the Department of Critical Care Medicine. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and Ikaria.

By Anita Srikameswaran

Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are not the only ones likely to be severely depressed in the aftermath of hospitalization. Family and friends who care for them often suffer emotional and social hardship, too, accord-ing to a prospective study from the Univer-sity of Pittsburgh School of Medicine that is the first to monitor patients and caregivers during a one-year period for predictors of depression and lifestyle disruption.

The findings, published this month in Chest, indicate that the informal caregivers of ICU survivors endure even more stress than those caring for Alzheimer’s disease patients, noted senior author Michael R. Pinsky, professor and vice chair for aca-demic affairs, Department of Critical Care Medicine at Pitt.

“Caregiver depression is the collateral damage of these stressful ICU admissions,” he noted. “This research reveals that loved ones of critically ill patients have profound and unmet needs for assistance even after hospital discharge. The emotional and eco-nomic burden is enormous, and these issues must be addressed.”

Part of a larger project examining ICU outcomes, this study focused on the survi-vors of critical illness requiring breathing assistance with a ventilator for at least 48 hours as well as their informal caregivers, meaning family and friends. Caregivers were evaluated for depression symptoms two, six, and 12 months after mechanical ventilation was initiated in the patient. At the two-month mark, more than 40 percent of the patients had died.

Of the 48 caregivers who were inter-viewed at all three time points, the majority were female, and nearly half were wives of the patients. A predictor of depression symptoms at both two and 12 months was looking after a male patient. At 12 months, patient tracheostomy, in which a hole is

ICU Survivors’ Caregivers Often Suffer From Depression, Pitt Researchers Find

made through the neck directly into the airway to assist breathing, also was a predictor of caregiver symptoms. If patients had at least a high school education, caregivers were more likely to report lifestyle disruption at the two-month mark. Tracheostomy, functional dependency, and male patient gender were predictive of lifestyle disruption at 12 months.

“Our previous studies indicate that caregivers often change their lives to care for recovering patients, includ-ing quitting work, taking lower-paying jobs, or leaving college in order to spend more time at home,” Pinsky said. “These are highly stressful choices, and it is imperative that we develop interventions to help families cope with the burden of critical illness even after they have left the hospital.”

Studies are now under way to assess approaches designed to mitigate these problems for both patients and caregivers.

Coauthors of the Chest paper include David C. Van Pelt, a Criti-cal Medicine Fellow at Pitt; Richard Schulz, professor of psychiatry and director of Pitt’s University Center for Social and Urban Research; Lak-shmipathi Chelluri, a professor of critical care medicine, all of them in the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

The study was funded through grants from the National Institute on Aging; the National Institute on Nurs-ing Research; the National Institute of Mental Health; the National Center on Minority Health and Health Dis-parities; the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; and the National Science Foundation.

February 8, 2010 • University of Pittsburgh • 7

Happenings

pianist Folds, 8 p.m. Feb. 13, Heinz Hall, 600 Penn Ave., Downtown, BNY Mellon Grand Classics, tickets sold out at press time, 412-392-4900, www.pittsburgh-symphony.org, PITT ARTS Cheap Seats available, 412-624-4498, www.pittarts.pitt.edu.

The Fugue in Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, musical performance by The Axelrod Quartet, 8 p.m. Feb. 13, Synod Hall, 125 N. Craig St., Oakland, Renais-sance and Baroque Society of Pittsburgh, 412-361-2048, www.rbsp.org, PITT ARTS Cheap Seats available, 412-624-4498, www.pittarts.pitt.edu.

ExhibitionsPhipps Conservatory, Orchid Fever: The Exquisite Expedition of the Orchid, through Feb. 28, 1 Schenley Park Dr., Oakland, 412-622-6914, www.phipps.conservatory.org.

Pittsburgh Filmmakers Gal-lery, The City Within, through Feb. 28, 477 Melwood Ave., Oakland, 412-682-4111, www.pgh-filmmakers.org.

Pittsburgh Glass Center, Behind the Lens, featuring photographs of Pittsburgh’s Glass Center by Nathan J. Shaulis, through Feb. 28, Pittsburgh Glass Center, 5472 Penn Ave., Garfield, 412-365-2145, www.pittsburghglasscenter.org.

Mattress Factory, Likeness, art exhibi-tion, through March 21, 500 Sampsonia Way, North Side, 412-231-3169, www.mattress.org.

Frick Art & Historical Center, 1934: A New Deal for Artists, art exhibition cel-ebrating the 75th anniversary of the Works Progress Administration’s Public Works of Art Program, through April 25, 7227 Reynolds St., Point Breeze, 412-371-0600, www.frickart.org.

Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Whales/Tohora, through May 2, 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland, 412-622-3131, www.carnegiemnh.org.

Carnegie Museum of Art, Forum 64: Cecil Balmond, through May 30; Gods, Love, and War: Tapestries at Carnegie Museum of Art, through June 13; Carica-ture, Satire, and Comedy of Manners: Works on Paper From the 18th Through 20th Centuries, ongoing; Past Meets Present: Decorative Arts and Design, ongoing, 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland, 412-622-3131, www.cmoa.org.

FilmBioscopewallah (Prashant Kadam, 2006), Bollywood and Indian Film Series, 7 p.m. Feb. 12, Frick Fine Arts Audito-rium, Pitt Arts and Sciences Graduate Dean’s Office, Film Studies Program, Asian Studies Center, Indo-Pacific Area Council, 412-624-5578.

Herbert (Suman Mukhopadhyay, 2006), Bollywood and Indian Film Series, 7 p.m. Feb. 13, Frick Fine Arts Auditorium, Pitt Arts and Sciences Graduate Dean’s Office, Film Studies Program, Asian Studies Center, Indo-Pacific Area Council, 412-624-5578.

Lectures/Seminars/ReadingsBarry Lopez, author, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 8, Carnegie Music Hall, 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland, Drue Heinz Lecture Series, 412-622-8866, www.pittsburghlectures.org.

“Tuskegee Airmen: A Model for Excellence,” Roscoe C. Brown Jr., former Army Air Force captain of Tuskegee Airmen, noon to 1:30 p.m. Feb. 9, Room 1175 Benedum Hall, Swanson School of Engineering, School of Educa-tion, Office of Public Affairs, RSVP requested for lunch, eodadmin@pitt.edu, 412-624-9842 (see page 2).

“Achieving Goal Five of the MGDs in Uganda: Are We Registering Suc-cess?” Moses Katende, Heinz Fellow of Public Health, Pitt Global Studies Pro-gram, 8 p.m. Feb. 9, First-floor Lounge, Sutherland Hall, Pitt African Studies Program, Global Studies Program, 412-648-5085.

“Higher Education in Turkey,” Enes Gok, graduate student, Pitt School of Education, noon Feb. 10, 4130 Posvar Hall, Pitt School of Education, Depart-ment of Administrative and Policy Stud-ies, Global Studies Program, Institute for International Studies in Education, 412-648-5085.

ConcertsThe St. Olaf Choir in Concert, Anton Armstrong, conductor, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 9, Heinz Hall, 600 Penn Ave., Downtown, BNY Mellon Grand Classics, 412-392-4900, www.pittsburghsymphony.org.

Video Games Live: Bonus Round With the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Jack Wall, conductor, and The Men-delssohn Choir of Pittsburgh, 8 p.m., Feb.11-12, Heinz Hall, 600 Penn Ave., Downtown, BNY Mellon Grand Classics, 412-392-4900, www.pittsburghsym-phony.org, PITT ARTS Cheap Seats available, 412-624-4498, www.pittarts.pitt.edu.

Bob James & Keiko Matsui, a jazz collaboration with The Musical Instrument Museum, Feb. 12-14, Manchester Crafts-men’s Guild, 1815 Metropolitan St., Man-chester, MCG Jazz, Pitt Arts Cheap Seats program, 412-624-4498, www.pittarts.pitt.edu, PITT ARTS Cheap Seats available, 412-624-4498, www.pittarts.pitt.edu.

Ben Folds With the Pittsburgh Sym-phony Orchestra, featuring vocalist and

“The Future of the Book,”Frick Fine Arts Auditorium

February 10

Mia Farrow, actress and humanitarian, 8 p.m. Feb. 10, Heinz Hall, 600 Penn Ave., Downtown, Robert Morris Uni-versity’s 2009-10 Pittsburgh Speakers Series, 412-392-4900, www.pitts-burghspeakersseries.org. “The Future of the Book,” a panel discussion featuring Sven Birkerts, 2009-10 William Block Sr. Writer, and Maud Newton, literary reviewer and blogger, moderated by Pitt assistant professor of English Cathy Day, 8:30 p.m. Feb. 10, Frick Fine Arts Auditorium, Pitt Contemporary Writers Series, 412-624-6506, www.english.pitt.edu.

“Trajectories of Efficiency and Inno-vation in Teaching and Learning,” Daniel Schwartz, professor, Stanford University’s School of Education, 3 p.m. Feb. 11, 343 Alumni Hall, Arts and Sci-ences Teaching Excellence Lecture, Pitt School of Arts and Sciences’ Undergrad-uate Studies Program, Department of Physics and Astronomy, 412-624-6482, www.as.pitt.edu. “Evaluation of Educational Innova-tions for Students and Residents: Principles to Enhance Medical Educa-tion Research,” Judy A. Shea, professor and associate dean for medical education research, University of Pennsylvania’s School of Medicine, noon Feb. 12, Lecture Room 3, Scaife Hall, Pitt Medi-cal Education Grand Rounds, School of Medicine’s Office of the Vice Dean, 412-648-9000, www.megr.pitt.edu.

“Geochemical Processes Through Geomorphic Lenses: Examples From Eroding Hillslopes,” Kyungsoo Yoo, professor, University of Delaware’s Department of Plant and Soil Sciences and Geological Sciences, 4 p.m. Feb. 14, Room 10, Thaw Hall, Pitt Department of Geology and Planetary Science, www.geology.pitt.edu.

Opera/Theater/DancePoint Park University’s Conserva-tory Dance Company, dance perfor-mance, Feb. 11-13, Byham Theater, 101 Sixth St., Downtown, Pittsburgh Play-house, Point Park University, 412-621-4445, www.pittsburghplayhouse.com.

The Love Spell, by Italo Montemezzi, opera performance, 8 p.m., Feb. 12-14, Hall of Architecture, Carnegie Museum of Art, 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland, Opera Theater of Pittsburgh, 412-621-1499, www.operatheaterpittsburgh.org, PITT ARTS Cheap Seats available, 412-624-4498, www.pittarts.pitt.edu.

Company B & In the Upper Room, dance performance, Feb. 12-15, Benedum Center, 719 Liberty

Ave., Downtown, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, 412-281-0360, www.pbt.org, PITT ARTS Cheap Seats available, 412-624-4498, www.pittarts.pitt.edu.

Scapin, adapted from Molière by Bill Irwin and Mark O’Donnell, through Feb.14, Studio Theatre, Cathedral of Learning, Pitt Repertory Theater, www.play.pitt.edu.

The Clockmaker, theatrical performance, through Feb. 14, City Theatre, 1300 Bing-ham St., South Side, 412-431-2489, www.citytheatrecompany.org.

Buried Child, theatrical performance, through Feb. 21, Pittsburgh Playhouse, 222 Craft Ave., Oakland, Point Park University, 412-621-4445, www.pittsburghplayhouse.com.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, theatrical performance, through Feb. 21, O’Reilly Theater, 621 Penn Ave., Downtown, Pitts-burgh Public Theater, 412-316-1600, www.ppt.org, PITT ARTS Cheap Seats available at 412-624-4498, www.pittarts.pitt.edu.

Pitt/PhD DissertationDefensesKathleen E. Cosgrove, Center for Neuroscience, “High Affinity Group III mGluRs Regulate Mossy Fiber Input to CA3 Interneurons,” 9 a.m. Feb. 10, A219B Langley Hall.

Maressa P. Krause, School of Education’s Department of Health and Physical Activity, 9 a.m. Feb. 11, “Concurrent Validity of a Pictorial Rating of Perceived Exertion Scale for Bench Stepping Exercise,” Room 130, Trees Hall.

Vera Achvarina, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, “Recruit-ment of Children for Armed Conflict: Empirical Analysis,” 11 a.m. Feb. 12, 3600 Posvar Hall.

Vampiric Battle, 2009, by Tony Oursler,Likeness, Mattress Factory, through March 21

The Fugue in Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven,

Synod Hall, February 13

Pitt Celebrates Black History Month As part of the celebration of Black History Month at the University of Pittsburgh, Pitt’s

Black Action Society will host a series of free public events from Feb. 8 through 11. Highlights of the weeklong celebration include the opening ceremonies of a Black history exhibition, a student information forum, a poetry exhibition, and a magazine release party.

Festivities will begin with the opening reception of the Black History Month exhibi-tion titled “Black History 101: A Walk Through Time” at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 8 in the Jazz Hall of Fame in the William Pitt Union (WPU). At 8 p.m. that evening, the ribbon-cutting and official opening of the exhibition will take place in the WPU’s Conney M. Kimbo Art Gallery. The exhibition is open to the public Mondays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will run through Feb. 12; it is cosponsored by the Pitt Programming Council.

A complete schedule follows.Monday, Feb. 8 7:30 p.m. Black History 101: A Walk Through TimeExhibition’s Opening ReceptionWPU Jazz Hall of Fame 8 p.m.Black History 101: A Walk Through TimeExhibition’s Ribbon-cutting and Opening WPU Conney M. Kimbo Art Gallery

Tuesday, Feb. 9 8:30 p.m.Working the SystemStudent Informational Forum WPU Room 548

Wednesday, Feb. 10 9 p.m.Creative Expression: Celebrating the Black Voice, Poetry ExhibitionG-23 Crabtree Hall

Thursday, Feb. 11 8:30 p.m. BlackLine Release PartyPublication Party for the Official Magazine of the Black Action SocietyWPU Assembly Room

For more information, call Jacquett C. Wade, coordinator of cross-cultural and leadership development programming, at 412-648-7834.

Orchid Fever: The Exquisite Expedition of the Orchid,Phipps Conservatorythrough February 28

8 • P i t t Chron i c le • February 8, 2010

University News and MagazinesUniversity of Pittsburgh400 Craig Hall200 South Craig StreetPittsburgh, PA 15260

PittChronicle

PUBLICATION NOTICE The next edition of Pitt Chronicle will be published Feb. 15. Items for publication in the newspaper’s Happenings calendar (see page 7) should be received at least two weeks before the event date. Happenings items should include the following information: title of the event, name and title of speaker(s), date, time, location, sponsor(s), and a phone number and Web site for additional information. Items may be e-mailed to chron@pitt.edu, faxed to 412-624-4895, or sent by campus mail to 422 Craig Hall. For more information, call 412-624-1033 or e-mail robinet@pitt.edu.

By Anita Srikameswaran

Researchers at the University of Pitts-burgh and their collaborators have been awarded a $5.6 million federal contract to pursue the continued development of an implanted ventricular-assist heart pump for infants and small children with congenital or acquired heart disease. The project aims to provide much-needed access to the sophisti-cated technologies that have saved the lives of older heart-failure patients.

Harvey Borovetz, Distinguished Pro-

Pitt-led Team Gets $5.6 Million to Develop Heart-assist Device for Infants, Toddlers

fessor and chair in the Department of Bioen-gineering and a deputy director of the Pitt-UPMC McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, is the principal investigator of one of four projects that comprise the Pumps for Kids, Infants and Neonates (PumpKIN) Preclinical Program, a $23.6 million effort sponsored by the National Institutes of Health’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). He and his colleagues at Pitt, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of

UPMC, Carnegie Mellon University, Goleta, California-based LaunchPoint Technologies, and Salt Lake City-based WorldHeart Inc.began designing and building their device, called PediaFlow™, more than five years ago.

“We now have the opportunity to put PediaFlow through the necessary develop-ment and testing needed to pro-ceed to clinical trials,” Borovetz explained. “The aim is to begin human studies in three to four years.”

According to the NHLBI, nearly 1,800 American infants die annually because of congenital heart defects. Another 350 develop severe cardiomyopathy leading to heart failure. Each year, approxi-mately 60 children younger than age 5 waiting on the heart transplant list may die before a donor organ becomes available.

PediaFlow, which is made of a tita-nium alloy and is about the size of an AA battery, incorporates innovative mag-lev technology. Blood is drawn through it by means of a high-speed rotor that essentially floats within its housing owing to magnetic levitating forces. The rotor geometry, which is designed using state-of-the-art computer models and analyses, pulls oxygenated blood from the left ventricle through the device, returning the blood to the aorta and patient circulation. The flow rate of the PediaFlow can be varied between 0.5 to 1.5 liters per minute, suitable for the very smallest infants to toddlers.

“We believe the PediaFlow will be capable of replacing the heart function of our smallest patients,” said Peter Wearden, a cardiothoracic surgeon at Children’s Hospital who leads the clinical work of the project. “Left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) have been very successful in

supporting older children and adults as a bridge to eventual heart transplantation, or, in some cases, as a temporary measure that allows the heart to rest and recover. But there currently are no FDA-approved LVADs for babies and toddlers.”

Extracorporeal membrane oxygen-ation, or ECMO, currently is the only form

of support for these smallest of children, but it requires that patients be fully anesthetized, and can only be used for a few weeks before severe complica-tions develop.

“This creates a ‘race against time’ while we and the family wait for an appropriate donor organ to become avail-able,” Wearden noted. “To meet the NHLBI’s requirements,

PediaFlow must support patients for up to six months, and our preclinical research has already shown that it works flawlessly for at least 70 days. We are very excited to have these additional resources to help bring this technology to these children.”

Harvey Borovetz